DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 30, 2025--
With seven brand-new Halloween hubs or experiences launching across the island this month, Ireland has truly become the ultimate destination to celebrate Halloween in 2025.
Click to Gallery
Fireworks, Derry Halloween, County Derry~Londonderry
2024 Púca Festival, Samhain Fires Ceremony, Athboy, County Meath
Derry Halloween Festival, County Derry~Londonderry
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251022209535/en/
Ireland’s Halloween Season
Rooted in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, Halloween originated in Ireland more than 2,000 years ago and, this year, the island of Ireland is expanding its celebration like never before. With over 340 events planned across the island to celebrate this year, Halloween in Ireland is fast becoming a bucket-list travel experience.
Seven new Halloween hubs join existing flagship events across the island of Ireland including the Púca Festival in County Meath and Derry Halloween in Derry-Londonderry which together welcomed over 169,000 visitors last year. The seven new hubs are inviting visitors to come and explore Ireland’s eerie folklore and fiery rituals through immersive, locally inspired experiences. Each hub will feature its own schedule of events – from torchlit processions and mythological re-enactments to interactive ghost tours, harvest feasts and immersive performances. The new Halloween hubs for 2025 include locations in Fingal (north Dublin), Galway, Kerry, Kilkenny, Limerick, Longford and Westmeath, as well as Meath and Louth, with festivities running throughout the month of October until 2 nd November.
Derry Halloween continues to go from strength to strength as Europe’s largest Halloween festival. Taking place from Tuesday 28th to Friday 31st October, this year’s festival offers four days of spine-tingling celebrations across over 50 venues in Northern Ireland’s historic second city. It is set to feature over 100 unmissable events as it builds towards its milestone 40th anniversary in 2026. The success of Derry Halloween reflects a global appetite for culturally rich, immersive travel experiences and Halloween on the island of Ireland offers just that – with ancient storytelling, breathtaking autumn scenery, as well as legendary Irish hospitality.
Samhain: Where Halloween Began
What we now call Halloween began as Samhain, a sacred Celtic festival marking the transition from light to dark. It was believed that on October 31st, the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest – a time when spirits crossed into our world and bonfires were lit to ward them off. These ancient beliefs still shape Ireland’s Halloween traditions today and, with the new Halloween hubs, visitors can explore the roots of the festival in the very landscapes where it all began.
For more information, visit Ireland is the Home of Halloween | Ireland.com
Fireworks, Derry Halloween, County Derry~Londonderry
2024 Púca Festival, Samhain Fires Ceremony, Athboy, County Meath
Derry Halloween Festival, County Derry~Londonderry
PHOENIX (AP) — Ta'Niya Latson scored 16 and Agot Makeer added 14 points and South Carolina played stifling defense to beat UConn 62-48 on Friday night, ending the Huskies' 54-game winning streak and advancing to the women's NCAA Tournament championship game.
The Gamecocks will face the winner of Texas and UCLA semifinal on Sunday for the title, capping off another March Madness. South Carolina (36-3) will be looking to win its fourth national championship. Their other three have come in the last decade.
UConn (38-1) entered the Final Four undefeated for the ninth time in school history and for the third straight time left without a title. The Huskies also lost in the 2017 and 2018 national semifinals. This was the fewest points UConn had scored since putting up 49 points in a national championship game loss to the Gamecocks in 2022.
The Huskies and Gamecocks played last season for the title and UConn came away with an 82-59 rout for the school’s 12th national championship. UConn also beat South Carolina handily during the 2024-25 regular season.
With less than a second remaining in the game, UConn coach Geno Auriemma walked across the court to shake hands with Dawn Staley and had an animated conversation with the South Carolina coach while pointing to the floor. Staley yelled back at him as assistants from both teams separated the two.
When the clock ran out finally, Auriemma walked straight to the tunnel and didn’t shake hands. The two teams did shake hands.
The teams came into the game as the second- and third-leading scoring teams in the nation, both averaging over 87 points per game. This was a defensive battle.
Leading 46-44 a few minutes into the third quarter, South Carolina scored five straight points, capped by Agot Makeer’s 3-pointer to extend the advantage to seven.
Sarah Strong hit a 3-pointer to get the Huskies back within 51-47 with 4:39 left. The Huskies didn't score again until Strong hit a free throw with 30.8 seconds left, after South Carolina had scored 11 straight points.
South Carolina clamped down on UConn’s two stars. Strong, who was honored as the AP Player of the Year on Thursday, had 12 points and 12 rebounds, but went 4 for 16 from the field. Azzi Fudd had just eight points for the Huskies, making only 3 of 15 shots.
UConn had its worst shooting night of the season finishing 19 for 61 (31.1%) from the field.
Trailing 26-24 at the half, South Carolina opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run to take the lead. The Gamecocks extended the advantage to 40-30 — the biggest deficit the Huskies’ had faced this season.
UConn, which missed 10 of its first 11 3-point attempts, then started to get hot from the field, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers, the last by Fudd to get within 40-39. The All-America guard had missed seven of her first eight shots as she was blanketed by South Carolina’s defense.
South Carolina’s Tessa Johnson scored the final four points of the quarter to make it 44-39.
Both teams had cruised to the Final Four, each winning in the first four rounds of the tournament easily. The Huskies had been rarely challenged all season long, routing their Big East opponents by record margins.
Facing their first real test in a long time, they had no answer.
The opening 20 minutes was full of missed shots and turnovers. The two teams combined to shoot 22 for 62 from the field (35.4%) and had 14 turnovers. UConn led 26-24 at the half.
There were dozens of former Huskies and Gamecocks players in the crowd including Diana Taurasi, Paige Bueckers and Aliyah Boston. Boston was sitting next to Flavor Flav, who is a huge supporter of women’s sports.
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) fouls South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards (8) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
South Carolina guard Agot Makeer (44) and UConn guard Kayleigh Heckel (9) scramble for the ball during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
South Carolina guard Ta'Niya Latson (00) drives against UConn guard Blanca Quinonez (4) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
South Carolina guard Tessa Johnson (5) shoots over UConn forward Sarah Strong (21) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
South Carolina guard Ta'Niya Latson (00) and South Carolina guard Agot Makeer (44) go for a rebound against UConn during the first half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
